Rural areas have trouble finding candidates

Instead of April's election bringing new faces to Norwood's village board, it will leave the town of just less than 500 folks without a mayor and two trustees.

Karen McDonald

Instead of April's election bringing new faces to Norwood's village board, it will leave the town of just less than 500 folks without a mayor and two trustees.

"It's more of the economy than anything," said Mayor Jim Yocum, who does not seek re-election. "Both spouses these days have to work to make a living, and they just don't have time" to serve in public office.

Not only is no one running for mayor, but this tiny village also has three open, four-year board seats, with only incumbent Lydia Pierce on the ballot.

Norwood is not alone in that respect. Several other Peoria-area municipalities, school boards, library and park boards are faced with the quandary of more openings than candidates to fill them on April 7.

In Tazewell County, the entire Delavan Township Park Board is up for re-election, but no one is running for the five open seats. Board attorney Mark Allen said where there is no successor, current board members will continue to hold office unless they do not want to.

The situation is not new.

"The preferred method would be an election for each position, but I can't control that," Allen said. "I think it is a recurring problem in some of these smaller, rural areas. It's difficult to get people to run."

Current Park Board Secretary Shari Teal said most current members indicated they would continue to hold their offices. Teal, however, is running for the Delavan District 703 School Board and, if elected, she could not serve on the Park Board.

"I think part of the problem we have is that the park board terms are so long," Teal said of the six-year seats.

In most cases where there are not enough candidates, vacancies are filled by board appointments.

For example, tiny Pleasant Hill Elementary District 69, in far southwest Peoria, has only one candidate, Jane Noel, running for four open board seats. There's also one unexpired two-year term listed on the ballot, with no candidate, but that position already has been filled by Eric Thomas, said Superintendent John Bute.

Three Pleasant Hill board members are not up for election, so once Noel is seated, the quartet will appoint the three remaining spots.

"It's not that uncommon to have to fill seats," Bute said, adding the situation has happened in several previous election cycles.

Back in Norwood, Mayor Yocum was appointed to that post to fill a vacancy a few months before the 2005 consolidated election, when he was elected mayor. He's offering to continue serving until his replacement is approved.

Cheryl Perry is the only Norwood resident running for an unexpired two-year term, so she's assured of winning.

Pierce, an 18-year Village Board veteran and the only person seeking one of the four-year seats, said she's not interested in becoming mayor instead.

Board members Mary Melaga and Dana Franklin still have two years on their terms. They, along with Pierce and Perry, will appoint remaining members to the board.

"Those seats will be filled some way or another. This is just a slow time," Pierce said. "It's not just here in Norwood."

Karen McDonald can be reached at (309) 686-3285 or kmcdonald@pjstar.com